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The video tribute was playing on the scoreboard during a first quarter timeout in what would turn into a triumphant return and Jose Calderon didn’t know where to look.

Should he glance up and see snippets of big moments in his 7 ½-year career in Toronto, or should he remain focused on what Detroit Pistons coach Lawrence Frank was saying

Didn’t really matter. Wherever he looked, he did it through misty eyes.

“No tear was out, but it was close,” he said.

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Calderon, one of the biggest fan favourites to ever wear a Raptors uniform, scorched his old team with 19 points and nine assists in Detroit’s 108-98 victory in what he termed a “better than expected” return to Toronto.

“It was amazing,” he said. “Amazing.”

And as if to rub a bit more salt in the wound, Calderon came up with, well, a Calderon-like performance to hand the Raptors the loss that officially, finally, mathematically eliminated Toronto from post-season contention.

With the game in the balance in the fourth quarter, he drained a long jump shot, gave up an open look to get Rodney Stuckey an open three — that Stuckey made — and then made about the same pass to Jonas Jerebko for another dagger-like basket.

“We’ve seen that from Jose all the time,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “He got the guys in the right position and made those passes.”

Calderon controlled the tempo of the game like a maestro and provided a look back at what he’d done so often in Toronto before being traded, along with Ed Davis, for Rudy Gay.

He had said before the game that he didn’t know what the reception would be like, or how he’d keep his emotions in check. He got a standing ovation during the player introductions, a longer, more heartfelt ovation when the video played and was his usual calm self in 43 minutes on the court.

“It’s hard to explain, but it felt great,” he said. “I think it’s going to be one of the better moments in my career, for sure.

“When they showed the video with the different times as a Raptor, with longer hair and shorter hair and less hair and more hair, there were a lot of great moments there that came to my mind.

“I played against (Toronto) two days ago. It was nothing similar; it was just a game. It was fun because it was my teammates in the other side, but tonight I knew I had that wired feeling from this morning.”

For the Raptors, who got a season-high 34 points from Rudy Gay, the loss continues a freefall in the final six weeks of the season, losers of 14 of 18 and now a non-playoff team for the fifth straight spring.

“It hurts,” said Casey. “A couple of weeks ago, we saw that light but it faded when we could not take care of games against Washington, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Unfortunately, it’s over now.

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